kitano's fireworks / hana-bi
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SEAN CONNELL
Forrest Gump/Life is Beautiful: The former is just stupid Americana; the latter, a pernicious, lying film that became even more insufferable the more popular it became. (When was the last time a subtitled film took over multiplexes?)
Something like a Top 10: Crash, The Oak, The Long Day Closes, The Flowers of Shanghai, Dead Man, The Last Bolshevik, La Sentinelle, Actress ...????
Underrated: Groundhog Day, Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left For The East?, The Boys Of St.Vincent (esp. Henry Czerny!).
Overrated: Pulp Fiction, Titanic.
DAVID FEAR Entertainment Directory, NBCi.com
Excellent piece/poll on the life and times of Nineties cinema ... easily the printed equivalent of caffeine and a rainy day matinee. Your magazine continues to inspire my filmgoing, film writing, and general film musing on a bimonthly basis.
And it's too good an opportunity to pass up: my own self-indulgent and gratuitous choices. You asked for 'em, I feel compelled to deliver.
If the Nineties needed a figurehead, Takeshi Kitano could easily shoulder all that was delirious and moving about cinema. From the stoic beauty of A Scene at the Sea to the ridiculous "dumb" comedy of Getting Any? (proof that the genre was solely American), from the Sirkian socio-melodrama of Kids Return to every element of the cinema sublimely fusing seamlessly in Sonatine and Hana-Bi, the Renaissance samurai of Japan cemented his reputation as the filmmaker of the Nineties and a timeless artist for the ages.
Films of the decade: Hana-Bi and Fallen Angels: vastly different stories, countries, directors ... but post-Tarantino, post-gangsta-chic, post-postmodern, post-cinema itself, both of these films took the most treaded-upon clichés of the decade and made them seem fresh, vital, personal, and profound.
Best of the Underrated Films, in no order: Monsieur Hire, Last Night, Schizopolis, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Terrorist (Santosh Sivan), Simple Men, La Haine, The Big Lebowski, Rushmore, Hana-Bi. ... and one for the road: Raise The Red Lantern.
LEE HILL
I am the author of Easy Rider (a BFI Modern Classic) and the forthcoming A Grand Guy: The Art and Life of Terry Southern.
Enjoyed the orgy of lists in the latest issue. For what it is worth, here is my contribution:
Television captured my interest on a daily basis during the Nineties more so than film. Since most American films of the decade were compromised in some form, it was simultaneously puzzling and exhilirating to find a largely unheralded embarrassment of riches on the tube. Whether it was Homicide, Seinfeld, Larry Sanders, or Law and Order or British imports like Prime Suspect or Cracker, great directing, writing, and acting was close at hand even if it was largely absent at the multiplex.
In terms of personalities, the yin and yang of film was often embodied by Martin Scorsese and James Cameron. Scorsese remained a beacon of intelligence, passion, good works, and vision. Cameron was the Anti-Christ ... never have so many viewers and critics been seduced by so little.
Films: Chameleon Street (Wendell Harris), Husbands and Wives, The Player, Three Colors trilogy, [SAFE], The Sheltering Sky, Naked, The Adjuster (Atom Egoyan), Casino, and The Grifters.
A. MARKOWITZ
I enjoyed your article very much and am now willing to take the plunge. All lists in chronological order.
Best of the Nineties: Cinema Paradiso, My Mother's Castle/My Father's Glory, Hear My Song, King of the Hill, Ed Wood, Before Sunrise, Fargo, The Sweet Hereafter, A Simple Plan, Being John Malkovich
Underrated: Mountains of the Moon, Cross My Heart, Hairdresser's Husband, Birthplace, The Advocate, City Unplugged, Cold Comfort Farm, Forgotten Silver, The Chambermaid on the Titanic, Fever Pitch
I agree with the selections of Pulp Fiction and Miramax. However, I would like to mention a live action short film entitled 12:01 PM that influenced both Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.
Even though nobody asked -- Worst Films of the Nineties: A Woman's Revenge, Homicide, Zentropa, Puppetmaster, Crush, Vive L'Amour, Stealing Beauty, Nowhere, Chinese Box, Tea With Mussolini
Now that I got that off my chest, I enjoyed the Jan / Feb issue very much. Thanks.
JENNY ROGERS
For me the adjective "underrated" has always pointed to and described those things (or people) which are not spoken of enough, underacknowledged, or just plain ignored. Due to this internal guideline, many of the films listed under various people's lists do not seem appropriate. I will now note the films of the Nineties I believe can be enveloped under the previously categorically misused term.
(in no particularly conscious order): The Silences of the Palace (Tlatli), Under the Skin (Adler), Deadly Maria (Tykwer), the films of Matthias Mueller, Angela (Miller), Days of Being Wild (Wong), Portrait of a Young Girl in Brussels in the late '60's (Akerman), The Doom Generation (Araki), Une Nouvelle Vie (Assayas), JLG / JLG (Godard)
Thanks for giving me an audience.
MATT SEVERSON
Hi! and thank you for this most self-indulgent and fun survey.
Films which were made near the brink of this decade that continued to inform and influence the Nineties: Blue Velvet (still!); The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; Decalogue; The Killer
Dominating creative influence: QUENTIN TARANTINO
The end of cinema (the worst films of the decade?): Forrest Gump; Titanic; Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Best film that seemed to sum up the decade artistically. And, OK -- my favorite? -- Chungking Express
Most underseen: Hou Hsiao-hsien; Iranian cinema; Sátántangó (though I understand why distributors would be afraid to pick up some of these movies....)
Most underrated films: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me; The Age of Innocence; Beloved; Dead Man; Jackie Brown; Amantes; Batman Returns; Alien3; Light Sleeper; Fight Club;
Prospero's Books; The Kingdom; The Ice Storm; Cyclo...
Most detested filmmakers of the decade? -- [tie] OLIVER STONE and JAMES CAMERON
Filmmaker who most disappointed in the Nineties: Woody Allen - someone whom I championed in the Eighties -- after a final great film in '92, Husbands and Wives (and parting so publicly with Mia Farrow) his creativity seemed to abandon him to the point where it's painful for me to see practically any of his films now....
MATT THOMPSON
The best film of the decade for me, is Lodge Kerrigan's Clean, Shaven. I saw it while attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Mr. Kerrigan visited the school with his film and I had the opportunity to meet and talk with him. Clean, Shaven remains one of the most powerful film experiences I have ever had. Kerrigan's distortion of sound and selective imagery make it the most realistic attempt at cinematically entering someone's head.
The person of the decade is David Fincher for my runner-up Fight Club and his previous work. Anyone who is able to make the kind of films he makes at people like Rupert Murdoch's expense, qualifies as my hero.
Other people worth mentioning: Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Atom Egoyan, Mike Leigh, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lars von Trier and Emir Kusturica.
JOE BAKER
I would like to congratulate you on the last issue of Film Comment. What a way to send off the Nineties ... thank you and I look forward to a new year reading FC.
Now, you asked and you shall receive: the following is my personal list.
Film - Casino -- Martin Scorsese's tour de force -- a layered, visual/musical feast of hidden allegories and cathartic violence set amidst the Sodom and Gomorrah known as Las Vegas. I've watched this film close to 40 times and find something new to marvel at each time.
Person -- Perhaps because I'm so enamored with the guy's films right now, but today my vote goes to Paul Thomas Anderson for creating three works that redefine the technical prowess of Scorsese, the raw acting senses of Cassavates, and the self-reflexive mood of Godard (especially in his use of music). Yesterday, my person might have been von Trier or Kusturica, and tomorrow it might be Nick Gomez or Tony Scott.
Ten Most Underrated:
1. Laws of Gravity -- Nick Gomez
2. Hard Eight -- P.T. Anderson
3. Imaginary Crimes -- Tony Drazan
4. The Whole Wide World -- Dan Ireland
5. Dangerous Game -- Abel Ferrera
6. Lovers of the Arctic Circle -- Julio Medem
7. Day the Sun Turned Cold -- Yim Ho
8. Funny Bones -- Peter Chelsom
9. Zero Effect -- Jake Kasdan
10. Nouvelle Vague (or any Godard of the Nineties including JLG/JLG)
Thank you for giving me this chance to speak my personal choices.
RON DeVINTZ
In response to the poll taken about films of the Nineties, I wanted to add my humble two-cents:
The film that always seemed to have the biggest effect on the state of independent films and the action/thriller was Reservoir Dogs. Love it or hate it, this film was the most emulated and admired by diehard film fans. It doesn't play very well at the turn of the century, but oh well.
Notable individual: I hate to focus on U.S. film, but as a group, the dangerous individuals (John Grisham, et al) who are prosecuting Warner Bros., Oliver Stone, and Natural Born Killers. A bizarre fascism in the works, today, in our society of freedom of speech.
Most underated films of the decade: Oddly enough, almost all of these films are about white males, very few minorities. Not always the best films, but worth more than the audiences ever gave them:
Avalon (Levinson), The Big Lebowski (Coen), Crash (Cronenberg), Crooklyn (Lee), Hamlet (Branagh), Kicking and Screaming (Baumbach), Nixon (Stone), Safe (Haynes), Strange Days (Bigelow), and The Two Jakes (Nicholson).
Best of the decade: More traditional white guys. Sorry.
Bad Lieutenant (Ferrara), Breaking the Waves (von Trier); Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Morris); GoodFellas (Scorcese), Malcolm X (Lee), Magnolia (Anderson), Nixon (Stone), The Piano (Campion), Pulp Fiction (Tarantino), and Strange Days (Bigelow).
Thanks for the chance to have my say.
KAI MIHM
"And we'd love to hear from you," you wrote in the current issue with the "Decade Poll".... So here's one from Germany:
Film of the Decade: The Thin Red Line
Person: The Weinstein Brothers tie with Martin Scorsese.
Ten Best for the moment (no particular order): GoodFellas, Bad Lt., Nikita, Big Night, Carlito's Way, Titanic, Kleine Haie, Clueless, Glengarry Glen Ross, Fargo
Five most underrated: Carlito's Way, The Game, Any Given Sunday, Casualties of War (or was that '89??), Crash
Most overrated: too many to name...
Greetings from Germany!
CHRIS SIKICH
I am a regular movie critic for the Indiana University newspaper. The following are what I feel to be the best of the 1990s.
Film: The Thin Red Line No other film I saw dared to take cinema to the depths of beauty, insanity, and pure artistry that Terrence Malick's masterpiece achieves. Its greatness comes from being as silent with its imagery and use of dissolves as it is loud with its story of the "war at the Heart of nature." Cinema has not been this close to poetry in a long time.
Person: Atom Egoyan - No other director seemed to understand the relationship dynamic between characters, their setting, and the film itself as much as Atom Egoyan. From his less renowned works Calendar and Felicia's Journey to his masterpiece The Sweet Hereafter, he brought a freshly devastating look to cinema that will not be soon forgotten.
5 Best Films after The Thin Red Line: The Straight Story, Eyes Wide Shut, Natural Born Killers, The Sweet Hereafter, Three Colors Trilogy
5 Most Underrated Films: Grand Canyon (Kasdan), Ratcatcher, The Big Lebowski, Lost Highway, Little Buddha
Thanks for giving the readers a chance to e-mail this in and, in general, putting out the best film magazine around.
NATHANIEL CARLSON Appleton, Wisconsin
I thoroughly enjoyed your recent poll of the most significant films and filmmakers of the Nineties. I think you will be pleased to know that the accumulated lists introduced me to a number of works I was unfamiliar with and, at the very least, provided me with several prospective rentals. Still, I felt compelled to write because a number of very significant works were noticeably missing.
Jon Jost - Obviously not someone who is universally admired (or else his name would have shown up on at least one list), or whose body of work seems to speak for the concerns and values of the Nineties. However, as with the negative reception to Eyes Wide Shut, this oversight is due largely to an eagerness by many to dismiss that which does not have a familiar form or an desire to placate our expectations. Jost does not condescend to his audience, which in turn marginalizes his work. Such is the reality of filmmaking in the Nineties. If significance were rated on the basis of direct influence upon style, Jost would have little; his concerns are too profound for such considerations to matter much. He is one of our only film artists who has focused so relentessly on attempting to understand the moral underpinnings of contemporary American society. His findings are hardly comforting, and perhaps his greatest lasting legacy is that they eventually drove him into self-imposed exile in Europe.
The Bed You Sleep In -- One of Jost's last films shot in America, it is also his best, utilizing his signature lingering imagery for powerful
effect. In telling the story of a small American tragedy in such epic emotional terms Jost summarized the plight of an entire culture, unable to articulate real feeling, caught in an endless cycle of repeating leitmotifs. For purity of purpose and intention Jost's film stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Ten Most Underrated (no particular order): The Reflecting Skin, Instituta Benjamenta, Sure Fire, Closet Land, Cutthroat Island, Hurricane Streets, Blood and Concrete: A Love Story, Body of Evidence, Velvet Goldmine, Careful
E.B. HUGHES
I have been a longtime reader of Film Comment. I will admit that I enjoy the articles, and some of the writing, But I also I think some of it is quite pompous and stuffy, and some of the contributors are a bit full of themselves.
I am a writer & filmmaker as well, and can identify totally with the popularity surrounding the indie film craze. However, at the same time, I think that much of it is garbage. For example, I thought Blair Witch was an overrated piece of crap, that just happened to hit the market at the right time. I also think that one of your favorites, Kevin Smith is a talentless director, who should remain working at a convenience store, and not making pictures. I can never quite get a grasp as to why some things catch on, and why others remain silent.... Sometimes for years.
I am a huge fan of John Cassavetes, happens to be my favorite director. However, his status still is only at a cult level. I read "The Players" comment poll, and felt compelled to contribute. I found many of the choices to be bland. By the way, how can I become a contributor to the magazine? Anyhow, here are my choices.
Before I begin, let me say this much. I think the Nineties were nothing special for the history of cinema. If anything, I believe it knocked us back a notch. Okay, with that said, here goes:
Top Ten Films of the Nineties (not in any order): 1) The Sweet Hereafter, 2) Magnolia, 3) Lets Get Lost, 4) Crumb. 5) (tie) The Big Lebowski & Trees Lounge, 6) The Ice Storm, 7) American Beauty, 8) Monsieur Hire, 9) Buffalo '66, 10) (tie) Naked & The Big Bang.
Honorable Mentions: Suture, Music of Chance
I don't feel that there is any one talent that is responsible, or for that matter, worthwhile to the history of cinema in the Nineties.
GABE KLINGER
I publish a movie fanzine called 24FPS.
The decade poll has been my bedtime reading for the last few weeks and I have seen several new films thanks to it. I was surprised to see little mention of the Coen brothers, who are my picks for person or persons of the decade.
And I think I saw Barton Fink, my pick for film of the decade, only mentioned once as part of a list of overrated films. The scene near the end when the common man next door, now apparently a Nazi, goes insane and lets out uncontrolled rantings in the midst of the blazing fire alone is, for me, enough for it to win best film of the decade. My only advice is for anyone who hasn't seen this film, or any of the Coen brothers' work, to see it at once!
Here is my Ten Best, but you must keep in mind I haven't seen every film by Hou, Kiarostami, Godard, Sokurov, Akerman, Loach, Tarr, Kitano, among several, several others: Barton Fink, La Belle Noiseuse, Cookie's Fortune, Crumb, Dr. Akagi, Ed Wood, Fargo, GoodFellas, The Puppetmaster, Taste of Cherry
Some Underrated: Dead Man, The Ice Storm, Glengarry Glen Ross
Even though I did not include any of their films on my list I feel the following directors' output in the Nineties has been fantastic: Woody Allen, Jane Campion, Emir Kusturica, Mike Leigh, David Lynch, Eric Rohmer, Quentin Tarantino, Lars von Trier, Zhang Yimou.
Thanks for being curious.
Thanks for the wonderful poll, and thanks for the opportunity to add my own
comments.
IAN HOLDEN
Film of the decade: Casino -- A multilayered epic that must be the most
uncompromising studio picture of the 1990s. A Shakespearean tragedy filled to
the brim with wit, violence, satire, lust, hubris, greed, and sadness, this
is a true masterpiece that will only grow in stature long after the
negatively shallow and innaccurate Goodfellas comparisons have fallen by the
wayside.
Person of the decade: Paul Thomas Anderson -- For being the 1990s version of
the Emperor's new clothes. Never has a director received such acclaim for
being at best a skillful appropriator. His 1997 film Boogie Nights was
essentially a Goodfellas remake, albeit without the depth or levels of social
commentary (the latter especially troubling for a film set in the world of
the porn industry, which Anderson seems to know nothing about). Magnolia is a
slicked-up and histrionic Short Cuts, without the subtlety: half-baked
symbolism in the place of true emotional depth, cliches in the place of
genuine characters. his films are entertaining, certainly, and Anderson has
considerable talent. But he's so enamored with the films he was inspired by
that he seems to have nothing at all to say that is original, and his work
rings hollow after subsequent viewings. His best is still Hard Eight, which
is a fine character study, but it too falls in the shadow of similar films.
Calling Anderson the "great new American director" as many have is like a
slap in the face to true originals such as Wes Anderson, Lodge Kerrigan, and
Spike Jonze. If he's the future of American cinema, we're in dire straits.
Best of the decade (after Casino): Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara), Before the
Rain (Milcho Manchevski), Clean, Shaven (Lodge Kerrigan), Fallen Angels (Wong
Kar Wai), Fireworks (Takeshi Kitano), Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese), The
Killer (John Woo), Light Sleeper (Paul Schrader), Pulp Fiction (Quentin
Tarantino), Three Colors Trilogy (Krystof Kieslowski).
Overlooked: Bad Company (Damian Harris), Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow),
Night Falls on Manhattan (Sidney Lumet), The Boxer (Jim Sheridan), Bringing
out the Dead (Martin Scorsese), Office Space (Mike Judge), State of Grace
(Phil Joanou), Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick), Full Contact (Ringo Lam).
JIM JACOB I really enjoyed your magazine's 90's poll. I'd just
like to enclose my 10 best list (in no particular order): Mother, The
Ceremony, Unforgiven, Clueless, The Remains of the Day, Heat, Forrest Gump,
Groundhog Day, The Double Life of Veronique, and The Russia House. Thank
you. Sincerely, Jim Jacob
WARD HOWARTH
you said you'd like to hear from us, so . . .
I'm happy, ecstatic, absolutely overjoyed to see
Jarmusch's 1995 western included and praised in so
many participants' comments. Dead Man made the
transition for me, from film-lover to film-maker. I
watch it often, and it continues to inspire and
encourage me. I've yet to be more moved and in awe of
a scene -- William Blake's (Depp) second walk, this
time towards the sea canoe builders' mythical, almost
dreamlike hut. Depp's fighting death, Young's guitar
crescendos and scratches, Robby M.'s camera makes POV
essential and new. Slowly, the camera pulls back,
falls in line with the procession. We see, and walk
with the rest. . . .
I'm glad Dead Man screened recently at the Walter
Reade Theater, in response to all the "underrated"
lists. More people saw it -- and reacted to it -- than I
thought. I would have gone to see it, had it not been
for Ghost Dog. Let's hope people find this one as
engaging, humorous, and honest as Dead Man . I loved
it, and I know others will not. Maybe I'm biased, but
it's a good film - further evidence of Jarmusch's
staying power in cinema.
MICHAEL KRUDER
Since the opportunity has presented itself, why not?
Here my thoughts on the 1990s:
Film of the decade: For me, no film achieved the level
that Martin Scorsese's Casino did. It is a work of art
that reveals new nuances with every viewing, while at
the same time covering virtually every emotional base.
And the acting is superb. DeNiro, Pesci, and Stone are
masterful of course, but special mention should go to
the supporting cast for investing their roles with
power, dignity, and authenticity. Naive critics hurt
this film (right after the release, popular opinion
among film buffs seemed to sway towards
Scorsese-is-repeating-himself), but long after the
herd mentality of their way of thinking has vanished
this film will be seen for what it is: an American
masterpiece.
People of the decade (I can't choose just one!):
Martin Scorsese for being passionate about everything
related to cinema and directing at least four films
that I consider to be masterpieces (Cape Fear and
Kundun are pretty good, too). Quentin Tarantino for
re-energizing American cinema and unfortunately
spawning dozens of lesser imitations. Steven
Soderbergh for going which way he wanted to go, making
audacious experimental films and stunningly crafted
genre pictures. Michael Mann for being the premier
craftsman in genre filmmaking. John Woo, Wong Kar Wai,
Takeshi Kitano -- hell, all of the great Asian
directors. And on the negative side, the Academy for
playing it safe, Kevin Williamson and the popularity
of self-aware horror films (we need a new Romero
zombie pic more than ever!), and the mystifying
celebration of the bloated, shallow, and shockingly
derivative, movies of Paul Thomas Anderson.
Top ten: Casino, Goodfellas, Eyes Wide Shut, Violent
Cop, Exotica, Rushmore, Chungking Express, JFK,
Bringing out the Dead, Breaking the Waves.
Underrated: Affliction, The Limey, Office Space, China
Moon, The Assignment, Lost Highway, Drunken Master 2,
The Freshman, Until the End of the World, Rosetta
Everyone else loved them, I didn't: The Usual
Suspects, Fargo, Happiness, The Game, Magnolia/Boogie
Nights, Ulysses' Gaze, Trainspotting, The Piano, Life
Is Beautiful, Kitano's Boiling Point (sorry Takeshi -
I love ya, man, but not that much).
KURT GIBSON
That was a terrific issue. Thanks so much. My lists:
Film of the decade: JFK -- A film that is inaccurate
factually in most aspects, but is also more riveting
and chilling than any other film the 1990s produced.
I've seen it many times and it has plenty of flaws,
but it's so complex and fasinating that I'm willing to
forgive it.
People of the decade: They didn't always make great
films, and Martin Scorsese and Wong Kar Wai probably
made more interesting films, but Abel Ferrara and
Steven Soderbergh are both so unpredictable and
uncompromising that they might have embodied what U.S.
cinema should be. Both are true independent spirits,
making genre pictures (Body Snatchers, Out of Sight)
and intensely personal ones (Dangerous Game,
Schizopolis).
Ten favorites: Bringing Out the Dead, The Limey, Being
John Malkovich, Fallen Angels, Beast Cops, Clean
Shaven, Clockers, Insomnia, Underground, Schindler's
List.
Actors of the decade: Willem Dafoe for being amazing
in picture after picture, to little or no acclaim.
Harvey Keitel and Anthony Wong for pushing themselves
into dark territory. Susan Sarandon for getting better
and better with age. Gong Li for an unbroken string of
great performances. Jackie Chan for being the new
Keaton. Chow Yun Fat for being the new
Mitchum/Grant/Eastwood. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai for
embodying passion, fury, and pain better than anyone
that comes to mind. Sarah Polley and Hilary Swank for
being the two brightest hopes among young actors in
North America.
DARRIN SULLIVAN
Great poll in your Jan/Feb issue. It was a vindication to me to hear filmmakers and critics such as Greil Marcus defend the universally hated Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, probably the most misunderstood film of the Nineties. The poll also made me aware that I've too quickly dismissed filmmakers like Clint Eastwood. And finally, I still don't get Todd Haynes's Safe, although I like his other movies: as soon as Julianne Moore walks into the drycleaner's, I remember thinking, even Tony Scott or William Friedkin wouldn't go this far. And out I walked.
I live to read Film Comment.
© 2000 by The Film Society of Lincoln Center
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